Output driver having pull-down capability

ABSTRACT

A pull-down circuit includes a control circuit generating an activation signal in response to a supply voltage, a first reference voltage, and a feedback signal, and a charge pump configured to generate a control signal in response to the activation signal and control a switching device using the control signal. The switching device is a field-effect transistor (FET) and is coupled to a power switch and pulls down a voltage level of a gate of the power switch to prevent a premature turn-on of the power switch.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a Continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/214,750, filed on Jul. 20, 2016, the entire contents of which areincorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

This present disclosure relates to integrated circuit devices, and moreparticularly to integrated circuit devices including output drivercircuits.

An output driver receives a low-power input signal from a controller andproduces a high-power drive signal to control another circuit orcomponent, e.g., a power metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effecttransistor (MOSFET). When a high rate of a drain-source voltage (dv/dt)is supplied at a drain of the power MOSFET, a voltage across agate-drain parasitic capacitance between the drain and a gate of thepower MOSFET may cause a displacement current to flow from the drain toa gate of the power MOSFET. The displacement current may cause thegate-source voltage to exceed the threshold voltage of the power MOSFETand cause a false turn-on of the power MOSFET.

A conventional output driver includes a pull-down resistor coupledbetween a gate and a source of a power MOSFET to address the falseturn-on. The pull-down resistor is typically provided with a lowresistance value, e.g., when a threshold voltage of the power MOSFET islow, a value of a gate-drain parasitic capacitance is large, or both.However, the pull-down resistor having a low resistance value has highpower consumption due to a leakage current.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a portion of a switched-mode power supply (SMPS)apparatus according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 illustrates a portion of an output driver suitable for use as theoutput driver of FIG. 1 according to an embodiment.

FIG. 3 illustrates a portion of an output driver including a pull-downcircuit suitable for use as the pull-down circuit of FIG. 2 according toan embodiment.

FIG. 4 illustrates a pull-down circuit suitable for use as the pull-downcircuit of FIG. 3 according to an embodiment.

FIG. 5 illustrates a pull-down circuit suitable for use as the pull-downcircuit of FIG. 3 according to another embodiment.

FIG. 6A illustrates a profile of a supply voltage according to anembodiment.

FIG. 6B illustrates a profile of a voltage at a first node according toan embodiment.

FIG. 6C illustrates a profile of a voltage at a second node according toan embodiment.

FIG. 6D illustrates a profile of a voltage at an output node accordingto an embodiment.

FIG. 6E illustrates a profile of an output voltage of an output driveraccording to an embodiment.

FIG. 7 illustrates a process performed by an output driver according toan embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 illustrates a portion of a switched-mode power supply (SMPS)apparatus 100. The SMPS apparatus 100 includes a controller 110, anoutput driver 130, and a switch 150.

The controller 110 outputs a switching signal SS to the output driver130 in order to control the switch 150. In an embodiment, the controller110 is a synchronous rectifier (SR) controller.

The output driver 130 receives the switching signal SS and applies aninput signal IS to the switch 150. The input signal IS has a magnitudesufficiently large to achieve a desirable switching time for the switch150. Although FIG. 1 shows the output driver 130 as being a separatedevice from the controller 110, embodiments of the present disclosureare not limited thereto. For example, the output driver 130 may beprovided as a part of the controller 110 and the controller 110 may beprovided as a part of a packaged device in other implementations.

The switch 150 is turned on or off according to the input signal IS fromthe output driver 130. In an embodiment, the switch 150 is a powerswitch or a circuit including a power switch. In another embodiment, theswitch 150 is a power MOSFET transistor that replaces a secondary sidediode in a resonant mode converter, or a circuit including such a powerswitch.

FIG. 2 illustrates a portion of an output driver 200 suitable for use asthe output driver 130 of FIG. 1 according to an embodiment. The outputdriver 200 is coupled to an external switch 250, e.g., MOSFET switch, inorder to drive the MOSFET switch 250. In an embodiment, the outputdriver 200 is configured to prevent a premature turn-on of the externalMOSFET switch 250 due to the dv/dt triggering. The output driver 200includes a pull-down circuit 210, a switching device 230, a first pad202, a second pad 204, a third pad 206, a first node 242, and a secondnode 244.

The pull-down circuit 210 receives a supply voltage V_(SUPPLY) throughthe first pad 202 and outputs a control signal CNTR to the switchingdevice 230. The pull-down circuit 210 causes the switching device 230 toturn on or off according to the control signal CNTR.

The switching device 230 is provided between the second pad 204 and thethird pad 206. When the switching device 230 is turned on, the switchingdevice 230 pulls down a voltage at the first node 242 coupled to thesecond pad 204, and thus pulls down a gate voltage of the externalMOSFET switch 250 coupled to the second pad 204. In an embodiment, theswitching device 230 is a depletion type n-channel MOSFET transistor,which has a negative threshold voltage. In such an embodiment, a drainof the switching device 230 is coupled to the first node 242, and thusthe pull-down circuit 210 is used to pull down the gate voltage of theexternal MOSFET switch 250. As a result, a gate-source voltage of theexternal MOSFET switch 250 is maintained at a level that is sufficientlylow to prevent a premature turn-on of the external MOSFET switch 250 dueto the dv/dt triggering.

When the control voltage CNTR becomes sufficiently negative, theswitching device 230 is turned off. As a result, the pull-down circuit210 is used to stop pulling down the gate voltage of the external MOSFETswitch 250, and another portion (not shown) of the output driver startsto provide an input signal IS to the gate of the external MOSFET switch250 through the second pad 204.

FIG. 3 illustrates a portion of an output driver 300 including apull-down circuit 310 suitable for use as the pull-down circuit 210 ofFIG. 2 according to an embodiment. The output driver 300 also includes aswitching device 330, a first node 342, a second node 344, a first pad304, and a second pad 306. In an embodiment, the first pad 304 iscoupled to a gate voltage of an external MOSFET switch (see, e.g.,switch 250 in FIG. 2). The first and second nodes 342 and 344 arecoupled to a drain and a source of the switching device 330,respectively.

The pull-down circuit 310 includes a charge pump control circuit 332 anda negative charge pump 312. The pull-down circuit 310 receives a supplyvoltage V_(SUPPLY) and a reference signal (e.g., reference voltage)V_(REF), and outputs a control signal (e.g., a control voltage) CNTR toturn on or off the switching device 330 according to the supply andreference voltages V_(SUPPLY) and V_(REF). In an embodiment, thereference voltage V_(REF) includes a plurality of reference voltages.

The charge pump control circuit 332 receives the supply voltageV_(SUPPLY) and the reference voltage V_(REF) through first and secondpaths 318 and 320, respectively. The charge pump control circuit 332receives a feedback signal (e.g., a feedback voltage) FB from thenegative charge pump 312 through a third path 324.

The charge pump control circuit 332 generates an activation signal ATaccording to the supply voltage V_(SUPPLY), the reference voltageV_(REF), and the feedback signal FB. The activation signal AT generatedis provided to the negative charge pump 312. In an embodiment, thefeedback signal FB is substantially the same signal as the controlsignal CNTR. For example, the charge pump control circuit 332 generatesthe activation signal AT that causes the negative charge pump 312 to beactivated or disabled when the activation signal AT indicates a firstlogic value (e.g., a logic high value) and a second logic value (e.g., alogic low value), respectively. In another embodiment, the feedbacksignal FB is a different signal from the control signal CNTR. Forexample, the charge pump control circuit 332 generates the activationsignal AT that causes the negative charge pump 312 to be activated ordisabled when the activation signal AT indicates the second logic valueand the first logic value, respectively.

The negative charge pump 312 receives the activation signal AT andgenerates a control signal (e.g., control voltage) CNTR that is negativeaccording to the activation signal AT received. In an embodiment, thenegative charge pump 312 decreases the control voltage CNTR when theactivation signal AT indicates the logic high value, and the negativecharge pump 312 stops decreasing the control voltage CNTR when theactivation signal AT indicates the logic low value. In anotherembodiment, the negative charge pump 312 decreases the control voltageCNTR when the activation signal AT indicates the logic low value, andthe negative charge pump 312 stops decreasing the control voltage CNTRwhen the activation signal AT indicates the logic high value.

FIG. 4 illustrates a pull-down circuit 400 suitable for use as thepull-down circuit 310 of FIG. 3 according to an embodiment. Thepull-down circuit 400 includes a charge pump control circuit 432 and anegative charge pump 412.

In an embodiment, the charge pump control circuit 432 includes a firstcomparator 406, a logic gate 408, a switching device (or a firstswitching device) 423, and a resistor 421. The charge pump controlcircuit 432 receives a supply voltage V_(SUPPLY), a first referencevoltage V_(REF1), and a feedback signal FB, and outputs an activationsignal AT to the negative charge pump 412.

The first comparator 406 has a positive terminal connected to a firstpath 418 and a negative terminal connected to a second path 420. Thefirst comparator 406 compares the supply voltage V_(SUPPLY) and thefirst reference voltage V_(REF1), and outputs a first input signal IN1indicative of the comparison result to a logic gate 408. The firstreference voltage V_(REF1) has a level sufficiently high to cause anoutput driver (e.g., the output driver 130 of FIG. 1) to perform one ormore of predetermined operations (e.g., synchronization operation,pull-down operation, or the like). In an embodiment, the level of thefirst reference voltage V_(REF1) is in a range from 2.5 V to 3V.

The first switching device 423 is turned on or off according to thefeedback signal FB received from the negative charge pump 412, and pullsdown or up a level of a voltage at a node 419 (i.e., a first node N1)connected to a first end of the resistor 421. A second input signal IN2corresponding to the voltage at the first node N1 indicates a firstlogic value (e.g., a logic high value) or a second logic value (e.g., alogic low value) according to the feedback signal FB.

In an embodiment, the switching device 423 is a depletion type n-channelMOSFET transistor, which has a negative threshold voltage. In such anembodiment, a drain of the switching device 423 is connected to thefirst end of the resistor 421, a source of the switching device 423 isconnected to a ground, and a gate of the switching device 423 is coupledto the negative charge pump 412.

When the switching device 423 is turned on, the switching device 423pulls down a voltage level at the first end of the resistor 421, andthus the second input signal IN2 indicates a logic low value. When theswitching device 423 is turned off, the voltage level at the first endof the resistor 421 becomes substantially equal to a level of the supplyvoltage V_(SUPPLY), and thus the second input signal IN2 indicates alogic high value.

The logic gate 408 outputs the activation signal AT according to thefirst and second input signals IN1 and IN2. In an embodiment, the logicgate 408 is an OR logic gate having one inverted input, and the invertedinput receives the first input signal IN1. Thus, the logic gate 408outputs the activation signal AT indicative of the logic low value thatcauses the negative charge pump 412 to be activated when the first inputsignal IN1 has the logic high value and the second input signal IN2 hasthe logic low value. Otherwise, the logic gate 408 outputs theactivation signal AT indicative of the logic high value that causes thenegative charge pump 412 to be disabled.

Although the pull-down circuit 410 shown in FIG. 4 includes the OR logicgate 408 having the one inverted input, embodiments of the presentdisclosure are not limited thereto. In an embodiment (not shown), thefirst comparator 406 has the positive terminal connected to the secondpath 420 and the negative terminal connected to the first path 418. Insuch an embodiment, the logic gate 408 is an OR gate without an invertedinput, and thus outputs the activation signal AT indicative of the logiclow value when the first and second input signals IN1 and IN2 indicatethe logic low value. Otherwise, the logic gate 408 outputs theactivation signal AT indicative of the logic high value.

The negative charge pump 412 includes an oscillator 442, first, second,third, and fourth capacitive elements 403, 405, 407, and 409, first,second, third, and fourth diodes 411, 413, 415, and 417, a node 441(i.e., a second node N2), and a node 416 (i.e., an output node ON). Anoperation of the negative charge pump 412 will be described below inmore detail with reference to FIGS. 6A-6E and FIGS. 3 and 4.

FIGS. 6A-6E illustrate profiles related to an operation of the negativecharge pump 412 of FIG. 4 according to an embodiment. Specifically, FIG.6A illustrates a profile 602 of the supply voltage V_(SUPPLY); FIG. 6Billustrates a profile 604 of a voltage V_(N1) at the first node N1; FIG.6C illustrates a profile 606 of a voltage V_(N2) at the second node N2;FIG. 6D illustrates a profile 608 of a voltage V_(ON) at the output nodeON; FIG. 6E illustrates a profile 610 of an output voltage of an outputdriver (e.g., the output driver 130 of FIG. 1, 200 of FIG. 2, or 300 ofFIG. 3).

During a first time interval t₁, the supply voltage V_(SUPPLY) has alevel lower than a level of the first reference voltage V_(REF1), andthus the first comparator 406 outputs the first input signal IN1indicative of the logic low value. Because the first switching device423 has a negative threshold voltage, the first switching device 423 isturned on and pulls down the voltage V_(N1) at the first node N1, asshown in FIG. 6B. Thus, the second input signal IN2 corresponding to thevoltage V_(N1) at the first node N1 indicates the low logic value. Thelogic gate 408 performs an OR operation on an inverted version of thefirst signal IN1 and the second input signal IN2, and outputs theactivation signal AT indicative of the logic high value that causes thenegative charge pump 412 to be disabled. Because the negative chargepump 412 does not operate, as shown in FIG. 6D, the voltage V_(ON) atthe output node ON remains substantially the same. The voltage V_(ON) atthe output node ON is greater than a negative threshold voltage of asecond switching device (e.g., the switching device 330 of FIG. 3)coupled to the output node ON, and thus the second switching device isturned on.

In an embodiment, during the first time interval t₁, the control voltageCNTR at the output node ON is substantially equal to 0 V. In such anembodiment, the control voltage CNTR is applied to a gate of theswitching device, and thus an amount of a drain-source current I_(DS)flowing through the switching device is represented by the followingEquation:

$I_{DS} = {\frac{1}{2}k_{n}^{\prime}\frac{W}{L}{V_{t}^{2}.}}$In the above Equation, k′_(n) denotes a process transconductanceparameter of the switching device, W denotes a width of a channel in theswitching device, L denotes a length of the channel in the switchingdevice, and V_(t) is a threshold voltage of the switching device. When agate of an external MOSFET switch (e.g., the switch 150 of FIG. 1) isconnected to a drain of the switching device, the drain-source currentI_(DS) can be used to pull down the gate voltage of the external MOSFETswitch. As indicated in the above Equation, the amount of thedrain-source current I_(DS) can be changed by adjusting a designparameter (e.g., a width-to-length ratio W/L) of the switching device.

During a second time interval t₂, the level of the supply voltageV_(SUPPLY) exceeds the level of the first reference voltage V_(REF1),and thus the first comparator 406 outputs the first input signal IN1indicative of the logic high value. Because the first switching device423 remains conductive to pull down the voltage V_(N1) at the first nodeN1, the second input signal IN2 indicates the logic low value. Becausethe first input signal IN1 has the logic high value and the second inputsignal N2 has the logic low value, the logic gate 408 (e.g., the OR gatewith the one inverted input) outputs the activation signal AT indicativeof the logic low value that causes the negative charge pump 412 to beactivated. As a result, the negative charge pump 412 produces a negativevoltage across the fourth capacitor C4.

When the oscillator 442 receives the activation signal AT indicative ofthe logic low value, the oscillator 442 generates a periodic andoscillating signal. When an output signal of the oscillator 442indicates the logic high value, the first and third diodes 411 and 415are turned on. Thus, a first end of the first capacitor 403 is connectedto a first end of the first diode 411 and a first end of the secondcapacitor 405. A second end of the second capacitor 405 is connected toa first end of the third diode 415, and a second end of the third diode415 is connected to a first end of the third capacitor 407. A second endof the third capacitor 407 and a second end of the first diode 411 areconnected to a ground. When the output signal of the oscillator 442indicative of the logic high value is applied to a second end of thefirst capacitor 403, the second capacitor 405 is charged such that thesecond end of the second capacitor 405 has a first negative voltage, andthe third capacitor 407 is charged such that the first end of the thirdcapacitor 407 has a second negative voltage corresponding to the voltageV_(N2) at the second node N2.

Subsequently, when the output signal of the oscillator 442 indicates thelogic low value, the second and fourth diodes 413 and 417 are turned on.The first end of the first capacitor 403 is connected to the first endof the second capacitor 405 and is coupled to the first end of the thirdcapacitor 407 through the second diode D2. The second end of the secondcapacitor 405 is coupled to a first end of the fourth capacitor 409through the fourth diode 417. A second end of the fourth capacitor 409is connected to the ground. When the output signal of the oscillator 442indicative of the logic low value is applied to the second end of thefirst capacitor 403, the second capacitor 405 is charged such that thesecond end of the second capacitor 405 becomes more negative compared towhen the output signal indicates the logic high value, and the fourthcapacitor 409 is charged such that the first end of the fourth capacitor409 has a third negative voltage corresponding to the voltage V_(ON) atthe output node ON.

Accordingly, as a number of cycles of the output signal from theoscillator 442 increases, the voltage V_(N2) at the second node N2 andthe voltage V_(ON) at the output node ON decreases, as shown in FIGS. 6Cand 6D, respectively. At the end of the second time interval t₂, thevoltage V_(N2) at the second node N2 becomes sufficiently negative toturn off the first switching device 423, and the voltage V_(ON) at theoutput node ON has an absolute magnitude that is substantially two timesas large as an absolute magnitude of the voltage V_(N2) at the secondnode N2. Because the voltage V_(ON) at the output node ON has a morenegative value than the voltage V_(N2) at the second node N2, when thefirst switching device 423 is turned off, the voltage V_(ON) at theoutput node ON is sufficiently low to turn off the second switchingdevice (e.g., the switching device 330 of FIG. 3) connected to theoutput node ON. Thus, a precise matching between the first switchingdevice 423 and the second switching device may not be required,resulting in sufficient design margin for fabricating the firstswitching device 423 and the second switching device.

During the first and second time intervals t₁ and t₂, the voltage V_(ON)at the output node ON is not sufficiently low to turn off the secondswitching device (e.g., the switching device 330 of FIG. 3) connected tothe output node ON. As a result, the second switching device remainsturned on and pulls down the gate voltage of an external MOSFET device(e.g., the MOSFET switch 250 of FIG. 2) preventing its prematureturn-on, which would result in current leakage and power loss.

During a third time interval t₃, the first switching device 423 remainsturned off and non-conductive. The voltage V_(N1) at the first node N1is pulled up as shown in FIG. 6B, and thus the second input signal IN2indicates the logic high value. Because the first input signal IN1 alsoindicates the logic high value, the logic gate 408 outputs theactivation signal AT indicative of the logic high value, resulting instopping the operation of the negative charge pump 412.

Referring to FIGS. 6A, 6D, and 6E, during the first time interval t₁,the supply voltage V_(SUPPLY) has a level lower than the level of thefirst reference voltage V_(REF1), the output driver (e.g., the outputdriver 200 of FIG. 2 or 300 of FIG. 3) pulls down the gate voltage ofthe external MOSFET device (e.g., the MOSFET switch 250 of FIG. 2), andthe external MOSFET device is placed in a power-off mode. During thesecond time interval t₂, the second switching device remains turned onand the output driver continues to pull down the gate voltage of theexternal MOSFET device, and the external MOSFET device is placed in anintermediate mode. In an embodiment, the output driver including apull-down circuit (e.g., the pull-down circuit 310, 400) pulls down avoltage level of the gate of the external MOSFET device to prevent apremature turn-on, e.g., while the external MOSFET device is in apower-off mode or an intermediate mode.

During the third time interval t₃, the output driver stops pulling downthe gate voltage of the external MOSFET device, and the MOSFET devicetransitions to a power-on mode. During a fourth time interval t₄, theoutput driver provides a drive signal (e.g., the input signal IS ofFIG. 1) to the gate of the external MOSFET device (e.g., the MOSFETswitch 250 of FIG. 2) through a pad (e.g., the first pad 204 of FIG. 2),and the MOSFET device is in the power-on mode. In an embodiment, theexternal MOSFET device is used as a power switch in a synchronousrectifier (SR) power regulator.

FIG. 5 illustrates a pull-down circuit 500 suitable for use as thepull-down circuit 310 of FIG. 3 according to an embodiment. Thepull-down circuit 500 includes a charge pump control circuit 532 and anegative charge pump 512.

In an embodiment, the charge pump control circuit 532 includes a firstcomparator 506, a logic gate 508, and a second comparator 514. Thecharge pump control circuit 532 receives a supply voltage V_(SUPPLY), afirst reference voltage V_(REF1), and a second reference voltageV_(REF2), and outputs an activation signal AT to the negative chargepump 512.

The first comparator 506 has a positive terminal connected to a firstpath 518 and a negative terminal connected to a second path 520. Thefirst comparator 506 compares the supply voltage V_(SUPPLY) and thefirst reference voltage V_(REF1), and outputs a first input signal IN1indicative of the comparison result to the logic gate 508.

The second comparator 514 has a positive terminal connected to a thirdpath 524 and a negative terminal connected to a fourth path 522. Thesecond comparator 514 compares a control signal (or a control voltage)CNTR and the second reference voltage V_(REF2), and outputs a secondinput signal IN2 indicative of the comparison result to the logic gate508. The second reference voltage V_(REF2) has a level that issubstantially equal to a threshold voltage of a switching device (e.g.,the switching device 330 of FIG. 3).

The logic gate 508 outputs the activation signal AT according to thefirst and second input signals IN1 and IN2. In an embodiment, the logicgate 508 is an AND logic gate, and thus outputs the activation signal ATindicative of a first logic value (e.g., a logic high value) that causesthe negative charge pump 512 to be activated when the first and secondinput signals IN1 and IN2 are indicative of the logic high value.Otherwise, the logic gate 508 outputs the activation signal ATindicative of a second logic value (e.g., a logic low value) that causesthe negative charge pump 512 to be disabled.

The negative charge pump 512 includes an oscillator 542, first, second,third, and fourth capacitive elements 503, 505, 507, and 509, first,second, third, and fourth diodes 511, 513, 515, and 517, and a node 516(i.e., an output node ON). The negative charge pump 512 outputs thecontrol signal CNTR to a switching device (e.g., the switching device330 of FIG. 3) that performs a pull-down operation. The negative chargepump 512 also outputs the control signal CNTR as a feedback signal FB tothe positive terminal of the second comparator 514 through the thirdpath 524.

During a first time interval, the supply voltage V_(SUPPLY) has a levellower than a level of the first reference voltage V_(REF1), and thus thefirst comparator 506 outputs the first input signal IN1 indicative ofthe logic low value. The control voltage CNTR is higher than the secondreference voltage V_(REF2), which is a negative threshold voltage of theswitching device (e.g., the switching device 330 of FIG. 3), and thusthe second comparator 514 outputs the second input signal IN2 indicativeof the logic high value. The logic gate 508 performs an AND operation onthe first and second input signals IN1 and IN2, and thus outputs theactivation signal AT indicative of the logic low value that causes thenegative charge pump 512 to be disabled.

During a second time interval, the level of the supply voltageV_(SUPPLY) exceeds the level of the first reference voltage V_(REF1),and thus the first comparator 506 outputs the first input signal IN1indicative of the logic high value. Because the second comparator 514outputs the second input signal IN2 indicative of the logic high value,the logic gate 508 outputs the activation signal AT indicative of thelogic high value that causes the negative charge pump 512 to beactivated. As a result, the negative charge pump 512 produces a negativevoltage across the fourth capacitor C4. The negative charge pump 512increases an absolute magnitude of the negative voltage until thecontrol voltage CNTR at the output node ON becomes less than the secondreference voltage V_(REF2). An operation of the negative charge pump 512is similar to that of the negative charge pump 412 described above withreference to FIGS. 4 and 6A-6E, and thus detailed descriptions of theoperation of the negative charge pump 512 will be omitted herein for theinterest of brevity.

During the first and second time intervals, the control voltage CNTR atthe output node ON is not sufficiently low to turn off the switchingdevice (e.g., the switching device 330 of FIG. 3 or 230 of FIG. 2)having the gate connected to the output node ON. As a result, theswitching device remains turned on and pulls down the gate voltage ofthe external MOSFET (e.g., the MOSFET switch 250 of FIG. 2) having thegate connected to the drain of the switching device.

During a third time interval, the control voltage CNTR at the outputnode ON is less than the level of the second reference voltage V_(REF2),which is the threshold voltage of the switching device having the gateconnected to the output node ON, and the switching device is turned offand becomes non-conductive. As a result, the switching device stopspulling down the gate voltage of the external MOSFET. Thus, when theswitching device does not perform the pull down operation, an amount ofa leakage current flowing through the switching device is smaller thanthat of a current flowing through a conventional pull-down resistor,resulting in less power consumption of the output driver according to anembodiment.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart 700 that illustrates a process performed by anoutput driver according to an embodiment. In an embodiment, the outputdriver includes a switching device (e.g., the switching device 230 ofFIG. 2) and a pull-down circuit (e.g., the pull-down circuit 210 of FIG.2), and the switching device includes a node coupled to a gate of apower switch (e.g., the MOSFET switch 250 of FIG. 2).

At S710, the output driver pulls down a level of a voltage at the node(e.g., the first node 242 of FIG. 2) coupled to the gate of the powerswitch, to prevent a premature turn-on of the power switch while thepower switch is not in a power-on mode. For example, the output driverpulls down the level of the gate voltage while the power switch is in apower-off mode corresponding to a first time interval (e.g., the firsttime interval t₁ of FIG. 6A) and while the power switch is in anintermediate mode corresponding to a second time interval (e.g., thesecond time interval t₂ of FIG. 6A) using the switching device. In anembodiment, the switching device is a depletion type NMOSFET, and isturned off during the first and second time intervals.

At S750, the output driver turns off the switching device using thepull-down circuit while the power switch transitions to or is in thepower-on mode. For example, the output driver turns off the switchingdevice during a third time interval (e.g., the third time interval t₃ ofFIG. 6A) and a fourth time interval (e.g., the fourth time interval t₄of FIG. 6A). In an embodiment, the pull-down circuit outputs a controlvoltage (e.g., the control signal CNTR of FIG. 2) that is substantiallyequal to or less than a threshold voltage of the switching device toturn off the switching device.

At S790, the output driver outputs a drive signal (e.g., the inputsignal IS of FIG. 1) to drive the power switch using a different portionfrom the pull-down circuit. For example, the output driver causes thepower switch to turn on or off according to the drive signal during thefourth time interval (e.g., the fourth time interval t₄ of FIG. 6A).

Aspects of the present disclosure have been described in conjunctionwith the specific embodiments thereof that are proposed as examples.Numerous alternatives, modifications, and variations to the embodimentsas set forth herein may be made without departing from the scope of theclaims set forth below. Accordingly, embodiments as set forth herein areintended to be illustrative and not limiting.

What is claimed is:
 1. A pull-down circuit, comprising: a controlcircuit configured to generate an activation signal in response to asupply voltage, a first reference voltage, and a feedback signal; and acharge pump configured to generate a control signal in response to theactivation signal and control a switching device using the controlsignal, wherein the control circuit generates the activation signalhaving a first logic value when a level of the supply voltage exceedsthe first reference voltage.
 2. The circuit of claim 1, wherein thecharge pump is a negative charge pump, and the control circuit generatesthe activation signal having a second logic value when a value of thecontrol signal becomes sufficiently low to turn off the switchingdevice.
 3. The circuit of claim 2, wherein the feedback signal is thecontrol signal, and wherein the control circuit includes: a firstcomparator comparing the supply voltage and the first reference voltageto output a first input signal; and a second comparator comparing thefeedback signal with a second reference voltage to output a second inputsignal, the second reference voltage having a level that issubstantially equal to a threshold voltage of the switching device. 4.The circuit of claim 3, wherein the control circuit further includes alogic gate performing a logical operation on the first and second inputsignals to output the activation signal.
 5. The circuit of claim 4,wherein the logic gate is an AND logic gate.
 6. The circuit of claim 2,wherein the switching device is a first switching device, and whereinthe control circuit includes: a first comparator comparing the supplyvoltage and the first reference voltage to output a first input signal;and a second switching device coupled between a node and a ground andreceiving the feedback signal, a voltage at the node corresponding to asecond input signal, a threshold voltage of the second switching devicehaving an absolute magnitude that is smaller than that of a thresholdvoltage of the first switching device.
 7. The circuit of claim 6,wherein the control circuit further includes: a resistor coupled betweenthe supply voltage and the node; and a logic gate performing a logicaloperation on an inverted version of the first input signal and thesecond input signal to output the activation signal.
 8. The circuit ofclaim 7, wherein the negative charge pump decreases a value of thecontrol signal until an absolute value of the control signal becomessubstantially two times as large as an absolute magnitude of thefeedback signal.
 9. The circuit of claim 6, wherein each of the firstswitching device and the second switching device is a depletion typen-channel metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor.
 10. Thecircuit of claim 2, wherein the negative charge pump includes: anoscillator coupled to the logic gate and generating an oscillatingsignal; a first capacitor coupled to the oscillator; a first diodecoupled between the first capacitor and the ground; a second diodecoupled between the first capacitor and a first node, the first nodebeing coupled to a gate of the second switching device; a secondcapacitor coupled to the second diode; a third diode coupled between thesecond capacitor and the first node; a third capacitor coupled betweenthe first node and the ground; a fourth capacitor coupled between asecond node and the ground, a voltage at the second node correspondingto the control signal; and a fourth diode coupled between the secondcapacitor and the second node.
 11. The circuit of claim 2, wherein thecontrol signal is a control voltage, and wherein the negative chargepump decreases the control voltage until the control voltage becomessubstantially equal to a threshold voltage of the switching device. 12.The circuit claim 1, wherein the switching device is a depletion typefield-effect transistor (FET) and is coupled to a power switch, theswitching device pulling down a voltage level of a gate of the powerswitch to prevent a premature turn-on of the power switch.
 13. Thecircuit of claim 1, wherein the control circuit generates the activationsignal having a second logic value when a value of the control signalbecomes sufficiently low to turn off the switching device.
 14. Thecircuit of claim 1, wherein the charge pump is activated in response tothe activation signal having the first logic value when the level of thesupply voltage exceeds the first reference voltage.
 15. An outputdriver, comprising: a switching device having a first node coupled to agate of a power switch and pulling down a voltage level of the gate ofthe power switch to prevent a premature turn-on of the power switch, theswitching device being a depletion type field-effect transistor (FET);and a pull-down circuit coupled to the switching device and controllingthe switching device to prevent the premature turn-on of the powerswitch, wherein the pull-down circuit includes: a control circuitgenerating an activation signal based on a supply voltage, a firstreference voltage, and a feedback signal; and a negative charge pumpgenerating a control signal according to the activation signal andoutputting the control signal to the switching device.
 16. The outputdriver of claim 15, wherein the control circuit generates the activationsignal having a first logic value when a level of the supply voltageexceeds the first reference voltage, and generates the activation signalhaving a second logic value when a value of the control signal becomessufficiently low to turn off the switching device.
 17. A method forcontrolling a pull-down circuit, comprising: generating an activationsignal in response to a supply voltage, a first reference voltage, and afeedback signal; generating a control signal according to the activationsignal and controlling a switching device using the control signal, theswitching device being a depletion type field-effect transistor (FET)and is coupled to a power switch; and pulling down a voltage level of agate of the power switch to prevent a premature turn-on of the powerswitch.
 18. The method of claim 17, wherein generating the activationsignal comprises: generating the activation signal having a first logicvalue when a level of the supply voltage exceeds the first referencevoltage; and generating the activation signal having a second logicvalue when a value of the control signal becomes sufficiently low toturn off the switching device.
 19. The method of claim 17, furthercomprising: increasing a level of the supply voltage until the level ofthe supply voltage becomes substantially equal to a level of the firstreference voltage while the power switch is in a power-off mode.
 20. Themethod of claim 17, wherein the switching device is a first switchingdevice, the method further comprising: comparing the supply voltage andthe first reference voltage to output a first input signal; andgenerating a second input signal using a second switching deviceaccording to the feedback signal, a threshold voltage of the secondswitching device having an absolute magnitude that is smaller than thatof a threshold voltage of the first switching device.